I was going through some of the older postings on Bishop-accountability.org and came across an article they reposted on “Catholic Right Still Tied to Big-money Republicans.” It is reminiscent of Jane Mayer’s research on big money's funding of the right wing. (See her book, Dark Money, for details.) While this article is a couple of years old, I think it is still both relevant and important.

Jane Mayer doesn’t really deal with Catholic right, but it turns out there is significant overlap. For example, the Koch brothers are also important players in the Catholic right, though they are not Catholic. While the confluence of big money and the Catholic right may seem surprising at first, it makes sense. It is based on the unChrist-like principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Historically, the primary enemy for both was Communism. Both sides were also tied to fascism – especially the Catholics. Thus the closest allies of the Church after the Russian Revolution were, in chronological order, Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco. During the Second World War, the Pope repeatedly rebuffed the U.S. and Great Britain; in fact, “Americanism” was officially declared a heresy in the 19th century. Only after it became clear that Hitler could not defeat the Soviet Union and would be defeated by the Allies, did the Church hold serious talks with the U.S. (Much to their delight, the CIA paid them to smuggle Nazis to South America.)

While the article primarily focuses on exclusively Catholic efforts, it notes the presence of strange bedfellows on a number of occasions. For example, it talks of (Protestant) “hate group leader Tony Perkins” appearing at one of Pope Francis’ conferences, along with the hard-right Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, Rick Warren, and Henry Eyring of the Mormons. I suspect there is undocumented high-level coordination behind the scenes.

Conclusion

Jesus said you cannot serve both God and Mammon (wealth). The Catholic Church and most large Protestant denominations are serving Mammon. This is why many of the same big-money names keep showing up as key supporters and influencers. The Koch brothers are a prime example. They have no known religious affiliation and do not attend church. Yet they contribute to and manipulate all the major players.

The Catholic Church teaches that the Prosperity Gospel, or Gospel of Health and Wealth, is heresy. Pope Francis repeated this early in his administration. Yet in all its regions of growth, the Catholic Church preaches the Prosperity Gospel. It is one of their primary tools in the fight against evangelical Protestantism - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. In Latin America, the focus Pope Francis' entire career prior to his election, a large majority of Catholics openly espouse this heresy. That is, prior to condemning this heresy, Pope Francis and his subordinates preached it and taught it.

The right-wing represents big money. The Catholic Church and major Protestant denominations - especially leading evangelicals like Franklin Graham - serve Mammon, and do so in the name of Jesus. Jesus warned of such false prophets, sheep in wolves' clothing.